Canadian Civil Liberties Association v. New Brunswick

Intervening in Canadian Civil Liberties Association v. New Brunswick

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Case Background

In June 2023, the New Brunswick Department of Education and Early Childhood Development announced changes to the 2SLGBTQI inclusion policy, known as Policy 713, for New Brunswick public schools.

The changes remove protections for trans and gender diverse students and prevent many of those students from using their chosen names and pronouns in school. The changes create different and more restrictive rules for gender diverse students than their peers. 

In September 2023, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association began a legal challenge to the Minister of Education and Childhood Development’s revisions to Policy 713.

Our Legal Arguments and What We’re Fighting For

Egale Canada, Alter Acadie, Chroma NB and Imprint Youth have intervened as parties with the following goals:

• To represent the interests of gender diverse young people under the age of 16 who are directly affected by the outcome of this case;
• To introduce evidence about the effects of the changes to Policy 713 on gender diverse young people;
• To make legal arguments on how the changes to Policy 713 unreasonably or unjustifiably limit gender diverse young people’s Charter rights.

Case Updates

September 11, 2023

• The Canadian Civil Liberties Association began a legal challenge to the Minister of Education and Childhood Development’s revisions to Policy 713

The Supreme Court decided that the Charter applies to the actions of public school boards in Ontario because they are effectively an arm of government. For that reason, it ruled that the decision by the arbitrator between the union and the school board must be set aside (overturned), as the teachers’ Charter rights should have been considered in the arbitration process.

October 19, 2023

• Egale Canada and New Brunswick-based 2SLGBTQI organizations Alter Acadie NB, Chroma NB, and Imprint Youth submitted a motion to intervene in The Canadian Civil Liberties Association v. New Brunswick. The case is a legal challenge to the government of New Brunswick’s changes to Policy 713, which violates Charter protections for gender diverse students.

May 2, 2024

• Egale Canada, along with New Brunswick-based 2SLGBTQI organizations Alter Acadie, Chroma NB, and Imprint Youth, are granted leave to intervene as added parties in litigation challenging the Government of New Brunswick’s changes to Policy 713.

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Supporting Documents

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